A large convoy of suspected Boko Haram militants armed with heavy machine guns, rocket launchers and homemade bombs launched a coordinated assault on the Police Area Command headquarters and two new‑generation banks in Azare, Bauchi State. The assailants bombed the police buildings, setting them ablaze, and then broke into the banks, emptying their safes and making off with the money. The attackers also hung a black banner reading “Allahu Akbar” at the entrance to the police station. The attack lasted about four hours.
4 Dec 2011 · Azare, Katagum, Bauchi
Deaths
3
Injured
2
Kidnapped
0
Total casualties
5
Perpetrators
Boko Haram
Response
Police and military reinforcements were sent to Azare. An anti‑bomb squad was deployed to defuse unexploded canisters. The Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Ikechukwu Aduba, said the attackers came from a neighbouring state and used about 20 rocket‑propelled grenades and homemade bombs.
Displacement
0
Socioeconomic drivers
Azare is a major commercial hub in Bauchi. By hitting banks, the group aimed to disrupt the local economy and seize cash for the upcoming December "offensive."
Trajectory
The Azare attack was part of a wave of coordinated assaults that Boko Haram carried out in late 2011, following the devastating 4 November 2011 Damaturu attacks (150+ killed) and the 26 November 2011 Geidam assault. The tactics used – simultaneous attacks on multiple targets with heavy weapons – were similar to those employed in Geidam and foreshadowed the 20 January 2012 “Kano Blitz” (185+ killed).
Cycle notes
The Azare attack directly echoed earlier coordinated assaults on banks and police stations in 2011, including the 27 May 2011 Damboa attack, the 20 June 2011 Kankara attack, the 25 August 2011 Gombi attack, and the 23 October 2011 Saminaka attack. The pattern of striking a police station to neutralise security before robbing a bank had become a signature Boko Haram funding model, used repeatedly throughout 2011 and 2012.
Pattern
Coordinated armed attack
Sources
- https://reliefweb.int/report/nigeria/timeline-boko-haram-attacks-and-related-violence
- https://www.vanguardngr.com/2011/12/three-killed-as-boko-haram-bombs-police-station-banks/amp/?noamp=mobile
- https://saharareporters.com/2011/12/04/nigerias-islamist-militant-group-boko-haram-kills-three-azare-attacks
Related — Armed Attack
Gunmen killed a herder in Owara community, Lokoja LGA, Kogi . Police confirmed the incident.
In a brutal daylight raid, Boko Haram insurgents targeted a group of local fishermen at the Alau Dam. The victims were rounded up while working at the reservoir and executed. Unlike the urban school shooting the previous day, this attack was carried out with a mix of gunfire and knives, with survivors reporting that many victims had their throats slit to ensure death while conserving ammunition.
Gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram opened fire on a group of men playing ludo in the Zango area of Bauchi city around 7:00 pm. The attackers, riding on two motorcycles, sprayed bullets into the crowd. At least six people were killed and nine others seriously injured, according to the Nigeria Red Cross. Witnesses reported that the gunmen fled immediately after the shooting. The incident was part of a wave of attacks that same day, which also included shootings in Kano.